The Year of the Newsie
by AetherlightGirl
Summary: A series of oneshots about the newsies celebrating holidays. Previously known as Newsies Year-Round.
1. Valentine's Day

**Hello everyone! I know I have other stories to write, but this popped into my head and I needed to get it out! I hope you enjoy this cute little story!**

**Special thanks to:**

**Percie Jean, for being my Newsies muse. I really hope you enjoy!**

**StarBeloved, beta-reader, and fellow writer. Thank you for your input!**

* * *

It was a wet and depressing afternoon that February 1st. Mush walked into the boarding house, pulled off his muddy shoes, and declared, "I hate February."

"Why?" Asked Les from the bunk he was sitting on. More and more often, Les and Davey found themselves spending the night at the boarding house if the weather was bad or they simply wanted to hang out with their friends. Their mother had objected at first, but, as Davey had pointed out, their dad still needed to use a wheelchair to move around, and the house was often filled with people who helped Mrs. Jacob cook, clean, and simply offer moral support. They didn't need two boys underfoot. Their mother had finally acquiesced.

Mush began to tick the reasons off on his fingers. "One, it's wet and cold. Two, everybody gets sick. Three, everybody thinks they have to celebrate Valentines Day the whole month."

"So why don't you like Valentines Day?" Pressed Les, puzzled.

"He's jealous, that's why," called Jack, walking out of the bathroom.

"I ain't jealous!" Snapped Mush. "I just don't like how everyone rubs the fact that you're single in ya face."

"Yeah!" Hollered Race, sitting up on his bench and pulling his cigar out of his mouth. "And everyone's tryin' ta palm off valentines and candy on ya."

"And ya can't get away from love songs no matter how hard you try," added Albert with a groan.

"It's not all bad," said Crutchie. "I get free chocolate sometimes."

"Valentines Day is the best!" Blurted Romeo.

Mush snorted. "Easy for you to say, you gotta girl. What's her name, Mandy?"

"Oh." Romeo blushed. "Um, Mandy and I broke up. I'm going out with Polly Barrow now."

Mush sighed. "All I'm saying is they should change the name of Valentines Day to Single Awareness Day," he finished gloomily, disappearing into the bathroom.

* * *

The next day, Mush was hawking newspapers when he heard somebody call him. "Mush!" The boy turned to see Elmer behind him. "I got a plan! Me and a couple of the boys are at Jacobi's."

"Oh?" Asked Mush casually, shouldering his almost-empty bag of papes and following Elmer to the deli, where Finch, Race, Specs, Albert, and Crutchie waited for them.

"Did you tell him yet?" Demanded Specs.

"Not yet! Sheesh!" Elmer turned to Mush. "We're gonna pull a little prank on Spot Conlon."

Mush grinned wide. "What're we gonna do?"

Crutchie piped up. "Well, we decided that we would write him fake love letters."

Mush's grin stretched wider still. "I'm in."

* * *

Jack glanced at the display window of a candy store. Chocolates in all shapes in sizes were stacked on red velvet pedestals and peeked out from bouquets of roses. Beyond the display, he could see a young man hand a chocolate to his girl and plant a kiss on her forehead.

Jack swallowed a pang of disappointment. He'd never thought much of Valentines Day, but as the holiday drew nearer, he found himself aching to give something to Katherine. He only had a couple nickels left over every day after paying for food, lodging, and setting aside what he needed for papes the next day.

He looked back into the window, pretending for a moment he had a hundred dollars to spend on Katherine. His eye fell on a large, red heart-shaped box. Inside, chocolates decorated with rainbow-colored squiggles and small, delicate macaroons were garnished with candied rose, violet, and pansy petals. _Katherine would love that, _he thought as his eyes moved to the price tag. Two dollars!

His phantom wealth vanished like smoke. How would he come up with two whole dollars in twelve days? He could buy something else, but no, bouquets reminded Katherine of the flower shows she'd been forced to write articles about in her early reporting days, and all the other chocolates and candies were pale in comparison. "Nuts to Valentines," sighed Jack, tearing his gaze away from the window and walking away.

* * *

"So we're writing him one every day from 'Ruby' until the day after Valentines?" Confirmed Finch.

"Yup. It'll be a cinch." Race pulled his cigar out of his mouth and began to gesture with it. "We'll write him letters from 'Ruby' and leave 'em at the boarding house. Twelve straight days of fake valentines!"

"What if he finds out?" Asked Mush cautiously.

"Then we blame it on Davey and Jack," replied Albert airily. He pulled a pencil and paper out of his pocket. "So who has the girliest handwriting?"

* * *

That night, Race was lying awake when he heard a soft shuffling noise. Sitting up, he peered into the darkness. He could barely make out the shape of Jack, rooting around under his bunk. "Jack?"

Jack abruptly looked up, and Race could see he held a stocking. "Race? What are you doing?" The boy ignored the question. Hopping out of his bunk, he padded silently over to Jack and reached for the stocking. His fingers brushed against it, but Jack snatched it back. Race heard a soft jingle. _Money. _

"What're you raiding ya savings for?"

Jack gave him a sharp look. "It's not important," he replied, tucking the stocking under his bed.

"It's Katherine, isn't it?"

"Race, _not a word_."

* * *

Valentines Day soon dawned. Jack was counting his money, a dark cloud over his heart. Davey and Les were having a serious bout with the flu, and the newsies had all chipped in to cover the papers the Jacobs boys hadn't been able to sell. All Jack had left was 40 lousy cents.

* * *

"Last one!" Cheered the group of newsies behind 'Ruby.' "Who wants to deliver this one?" Asked Race, smirking as he held up the folded paper.

"Me!" Demanded Finch, snatching the paper out of his hand. He energetically bounced out of the room, antsy from the anticipation of waiting.

"This last one," predicted Race, leaning back, "is gonna make the poor guy's head spin."

* * *

"Here's another one, Spot." Tuck, a young Brooklyn newsies, handed his leader a folded piece of paper. The name Ruby was written on it, surrounded with hearts and flowers like always. Spot sighed and unfolded the paper. Instead of the customary romantic message, however, what was written on the paper was different and shocking.

'_Ha ha Spot! We fooled you!_

_~The Singlesies'_

* * *

Jack walked to the Pulitzer mansion, ready for the Valentines dinner that Katherine had planned for them. He had managed to spend 20 cents on a spray of pink tulips, one of the few flowers Katherine liked. "Better than nothin'," he sighed quietly.

Two little boys, laughing, tore down the street, slamming straight into Jack. The three of them collapsed in a head. "Sorry, mister!" Called the two, jumping up and streaking away.

Jack stared down at the ground. "No," he choked out quietly. He had dropped the flowers in a mud puddle, and the boys had trampled them. The tulips were crushed beyond repair. Jack stood, swallowing the fist-sized lump in his throat, and shuffled away.

* * *

The Pulitzer mansion was huge and rambling. "Is he there yet?" Asked Albert.

"Yeah, Katherine's givin' him some tea or something. You got it?"

"Yeah, I got it! Ready when you are."

The boys knocked on the mansion door. After a moment, Katherine opened it, wearing a navy blue dress. "Oh, hello boys!"

Jack appeared behind her. "What're you bummers doin' here?"

Crutchie limped forward. "We gots something for you," he told Jack. He handed him a box.

The beautiful box of chocolates.

At first, Jack could only stare at it. After a moment, he regained his powers of speech. "How…"

"I told 'em you wanted to buy something for Katherine," admitted Race. "We scoured the city until we found something we thought she'd like. Everybody chipped in. Even Davey and Les."

"You boys…" Jack smiled. "I love you boys so much." He turned to Katherine. "I love you, Kath."

She grinned. Setting the chocolates aside, she wrapped her arms around Jack, pulling him in for a kiss. "And I love you too."

* * *

**Please review!**


	2. April Fool's Day

**Happy April Fools Day!**

**My sister literally just changed the names of ALL the contacts on my phone. I have a Jack Kelly, a Davey and Les, an ISLAPFLOOR...madness.**

**But, here we are, with our second Newsies oneshot! Hope you enjoy!**

**This story has a little bit of a storyline from my first Newsies oneshot, the one about Valentine's Day.**

* * *

"Spot, are you gonna get 'em this year?" Sunshine, named for his incurable optimism, leaned against the wall, tossing a small stone absentmindedly from one hand to the other.

"Of course." Spot Conlon had dignity, and his dignity had been infringed upon last Valentine's day, when a group dubbed 'The Singlesies' had sent him some fake love letters. It hadn't taken a detective to figure out that it was the newsies of Lower Manhattan, as they were the only ones who knew that they could pull off such a thing without being absolutely decimated. Spot had been livid when he found out, but had cooled his rage, as he and Jack had maintained a good friendship ever since the strike, and he guessed Jack had nothing to do with it. However, he had been planning an April Fool's day attack ever since.

"How?"

Spot grinned and ruffled the younger boy's hair. "You'll find out."

* * *

The night before April Fool's, the boarding house was chaos. Newsies shouted, hollered, and shrieked, making threats to fellow prankers, promises of neutrality, and pleas for safety. "C'mon, Les," said Davey. "We aren't coming in tomorrow."

"Can't we stay the night?" Asked Les.

"Nope. Mom wants to do spring cleaning tomorrow, and I'm not getting involved in this prank war."

Les lagged behind as his older brother walked away. "I'd rather get involved," he grumbled, picking up the pace as Davey yelled for him.

* * *

"Alright, boys, keep it together," chided Jack as the tension - and noise - in the boarding house escalated, turning into a lethal pillow fight. "It's bedtime, and we don't wanna get noise complaints or somethin'."

"Aww, Jack," came the collective groan.

"Come on." Jack herded all the newsies in bed. "Night, boys."

* * *

The next morning, as soon as all the newsies awoke, there was another eruption of noise. Boys ran around, making sure their things were prank-free, and playfully soaking possible pranksters. Jack stretched and grinned. Normally, he liked a little less noise, but as long as his boys were having this much fun, he was pretty OK with it. And besides...

He had a prank or two up his sleeve.

Most pranks didn't take place before the boys had sold their papes for the day, but some adventurous newsies liked to get their fun in early. Specs ran frantically around the boarding house, shirtless and with only one shoe. "I lost my shoe!" He fretted. "Has anybody seen it?"

"I may have," said Romeo mischeviously.

"Where is it?" Begged Specs.

"I stole it," chuckled Romeo. "I stole your shoe, your shirt, AND your cap."

"You stole..." Specs choked off mid-sentence and dashed off in a wild frenzy to find his things. Jack regarded Romeo.

"I thought I saw his cap earlier..." said Jack. Romeo chuckled and put a finger to his lips.

"Wonder how long it will take him to find out I _didn't _steal it."

After all the newsies got ready for the work day (Specs managed to find his shirt, shoe, and his not-stolen cap), the boys all headed out to the streets of Lower Manhattan. Each boy bought the bare minimum papers needed to cover their living expenses, eager to be done with work and to return to the much more serious business of April fooling...

* * *

Spot, Sunshine, and two other newsies named Nitpick and Inky waited outside the boarding house in Lower Manhattan until they were sure all the newsies were gone. Each of them carried cakes of soap, pink ribbons, a pink shirt, and even a pulpy radish. They snuck into the house. Sunshine and Nitpick began to strip the off-white sheets from the bed, while Spot went through drawers, pulling out clothing. Inky began to fill a washtub with warm water and dropped a washboard in it, then began to lather the soap.

The other newsies dumped their prizes in the soapy water, rolled up their sleeves, and knelt next to Inky, plunging their hands into the water and beginning to scrub.

* * *

The newsies returned to the boarding house, and stopped short at the sight of their sheet-less beds. "Wha?" Mush ran into the room to his bed. "My sheets? MY PILLOWCASE!" All that was left was his ragged blanket and a flat pillow. It was the same for the rest of the newsies.

"Who'd do this?" Asked Albert, scouring the room for any sign of the perpetrator. The room was neat and tidy - another sign of an intruder, albeit a slightly unusual one - without evidence.

Everyone was upset for a while, but Jack assured them that their things would turn up, which perked the boys considerably. They began to go about their day as April Fool's Day normal.

"Hey boys!" Called Henry. "I brought us some desserts!" The boys eagerly flocked to him, but there was a collective groan as the box was opened, revealing carrots, broccoli florets, and a couple raw potatoes. "You boys could eat a couple more vegetables," chuckled Henry as the boys glared at him and the veggies.

"How about you eatta vegetable?" Asked Race cheekily, pinching Henry's nose closed. Henry gasped and Race stuffed a potato in his mouth. Releasing Henry, he ran off laughing as Henry chased after him, lobbing vegetables.

* * *

The day progressed, filled with fun (and a few weird) pranks. The boys were sobered that night, however, to return to their beds which were only covered with a ratty blanket. The next morning, but they woke to a knock on the door.

Jack opened it, but there was nobody around. On the doormat, however, were piled several packages wrapped sloppily with brown paper. "Hey, Racer, Albert, gimme a hand with these!" He called, grabbing several packages and toting them inside.

The newsies buzzed with excitement. Each boy got one package that was addressed to them in a girly script, mysteriously familiar to the Singlesies. The boys eagerly tore into the packages, only to let out shocked cries or gasps.

Inside the packages were their bedsheets, as well as a few articles of clothing they hadn't known were missing; socks, underwear, and a few shirts. That wasn't the biggest surprise, however.

Every single item was dyed a faded shade of pink.

Newsies cursed loudly as they searched through the bundles, looking for anything that was untouched by the ungodly shade. Every single item was the same color, however. Jack pulled a note out of his and read it.

_"This is for the Singlesies. Thanks for the Valentine's day present._

_"~From someone not wearing pink for the rest of their lives."_

"It's Spot and those Brooklyn newsies!" Spluttered Elmer. "What're we gonna do, Jack?"

All the newsies looked at Jack, who had an odd, contorted expression on his face. There was a long silence, and then Jack took a breath and burst into a loud, long belly laugh. This hysteric laughter went on for three whole minutes, until Jack finally got enough control of himself. He wiped his eyes and looked at the newsies. Grinning, he said, "Happy April Fool's Day!"

And then he started laughing again.


	3. Passover Seder

**Hey everyone!**

**I was researching what holidays I should write for next, I came across Passover. I know the Jacobs are Jewish, and I do try to include diversity in my writing, so this idea really struck a chord with me. So, without further ado, we have a Newsies Passover Seder! I've also introduced a family of new characters, tell me what you think of them!**

**Disclaimers: I am not Jewish. If I have not portrayed Passover correctly, I apologize profusely.**

**Anything related to Newsies is owned by Disney.**

* * *

"Mom?"

Esther Jacobs looked up from her mending at her youngest son. He was sitting on the small couch across the room, but instead of paying attention to the book he had previously been reading, he was staring at Esther. "Yes, Les?"

"Can we invite some of the newsies to the Passover Seder?"

"What?" David looked up from his project, alarm registering on his face. Esther smiled. Davey liked to have his life ordered and distinct, no two groups bleeding into each other. Esther had heard many wonderful things about the newsies, but had never met any of them other than Jack, who Davey had brought over one day.

"Of course," said Esther. "After all, the service does say 'let all who are hungry, come and eat.'"

* * *

"Hey Jack!" Said Les the next morning, running up to the older boy waiting for his papers. "Guess what?"

"You met the President," joked Jack.

"No! Mom said you can come to our Seder the day after tomorrow! And you can bring the other newsies!"

Davey pinched the bridge of his nose. Once Les started talking, it was impossible to get a word in edgewise. He waited for his brother to wind down before turning to Jack. "Our family is celebrating Passover the day after tomorrow. In ancient times, the Jews were imprisoned in Egypt, and a man named Moses brought ten plagues down upon the Pharaoh. The night of the last plague, an angel of death visited all the houses in Egypt and killed the firstborn of every house. But the Jews had marked their doors with lamb's blood, so the angel passed over them. After that plague, Pharaoh let them go free. That's why we celebrate Passover."

"Ah." Jack looked at Davey, curious. "So what happens?"

"Well, it's a ceremony that can last two to four hours. We say blessings and eat from the seder plate, and then we have dinner and praises."

"Huh." Jack looked genuinely interested, which surprised Davey. He thought he would've lost the newsies at the 'two to four hours.' "Can I really come?"

Les broke in. "Let all who are hungry, come and eat!"

* * *

Les and Davey had shared the invite with all the newsies, but other than Jack, only Crutchie, Specs, and Romeo showed any interest. Esther had put Davey, Les, and Mayer in charge of cleaning all the house except for the kitchen, which she said was 'her domain.' After hours of cleaning, Esther finally deemed the house satisfactory and told the boys to prepare the table, then get ready.

"I call setting the table!" Shouted Les, running into the dining room. Davey didn't mind, since that meant he could set up the seder plate. While Les arranged the table, Davey went into the kitchen. Removing the seder plate from the 'do-not-touch-unless-it's-a-special-occasion' cupboard, he set it on the counter and began to work. He placed the egg, the horseradish, the _charoset, _the shank bone, the parsley, and the kale gently in their individual dishes on the plate and carried it out to the table, setting it in front of his father's plate. Since Les had already left the kitchen, Davey tidied up a few things and then left to change.

* * *

"Boys! Very good job!" Esther smiled at her sons, who grinned back. She took a moment to fix their hair and a few things on their clothing before giving them a hug. "I'm so glad I have you boys."

"We're glad to have you, Mom. We love you!" They squeezed her tight, and Esther could feel the sincerity of their words. There was a knock on the door.

"That'll be the Hales," guessed Esther. Giving her boys one last hug, she stood and opened the door. Sure enough, the Hale family stood there, grinning. "Esther!" Said Mrs. Hale, shifting the baby on her hip to give Mrs. Jacobs a hug. "Good to see you!"

"You too!" They exchanged Passover greetings in Hebrew as Mayer stepped out of his room, walking with the aid of his crutch.

"The Hales are here!" He announced, giving everyone a round of hugs and handshakes.

* * *

Davey and Les welcomed the three Hale girls in; there was Shira, who was Davey's age and as pretty as he was smart, Azriela, who was thirteen and full of energy, and Tabitha, who was Les's age with a quiet disposition. "Happy Passover!" They greeted each other with smiles and handshakes.

There was another knock on the door, and Mrs. Jacobs opened it to reveal Jack with Romeo, Crutchie, and Specs standing behind him. "Come in!" Said Mrs. Jacobs welcomingly. "Davey and Les are with some of their friends in the sitting room."

"Davey?" Asked Tabitha, tugging on his sleeve. "Who's that?"

"They're some of the newsies. I've told you about them. I'll introduce you."

The boys walked in, grinning. "Hey, Davey," said Jack with a grin. He surveyed the house. "I see you have other friends over, too."

"Everyone, this is Shira, Azriela, and Tabitha Hale. Girls, this is Jack, Romeo, Crutchie, and Specs." Phew. Introductions done. Everything was usually easier from there.

"Hi!" Said Shira, stepping forward. David was happy that she was a 'born hostess' as his mother called it. "Happy Passover! Is this your first Seder?" Davey was also glad Shira didn't assume they were Jewish.

"Yep," said Jack. "Davey and Les invited us over, since we ain't the types to celebrate holidays like this."

"Well, I hope you enjoy it."

Azriela was whispering in Davey's ear. "Why does that one have a crutch?"

"He had polio a while ago and he needs it to walk," Davey replied quietly. "It's probably not polite to ask."

"David Jacobs! You think I would?" Azriela gave a playful shake of her head and walked over to begin chatting up the newsies. Tabitha gave all the guests one look and melted into the kitchen to hide by her mom.

* * *

Everyone had just been hanging out, but soon it was time for the Seder to start. Davey made sure that the newsies could sit with somebody they were comfortable with and who could quietly explain what was happening. Azriela was bouning up and down in her chair, and everybody seemed to share the energetic attitude. Crutchie, Jack, and Romeo seemed eager, but Specs looked scared. Davey leaned over to Tabitha, who was sitting between him and Specs. "Switch spots?"

The little girl nodded and slid out of her chair, allowing Davey to take it. "Hey," he said to Specs. "Nervous?"

"A little. What if I do something wrong?"

"We had Seder at the Hale's house two years ago for the first time and I was terrified. But even if you do something wrong, everybody likes you and won't say anything." Specs took a deep breath and smiled at Davey.

"Thanks."

Mr. Jacobs cleared his throat, and everyone stood. They each took their copy of the Haggadah (which Davey had made sure to translate into English for the newsies and Katherine) and Mr. Jacobs began to sing a chant in Hebrew.

* * *

The ceremony continued for a while, but finally it was time to eat! Shira, Mrs. Jacobs, and Mrs. Hale brought out steaming bowls of soup. "Hey, Les," asked Jack, who was sitting next to the boy. "What's this?" In the soup floated a few round balls.

"Matzah balls!" Replied Les. "Unleavened bread dumplings. They're really good." Les put a whole matzah ball in his mouth and started to choke on the hot ball.

"You alright?" Asked Jack, a little in a panic. He'd never dealt with a choking kid before. Azriela, who was sitting across the table piped up.

"He does it every year. Just wait. When he's done, he'll complain how hot it is."

After Les swallowed down the matzah, he panted. "That's hot!" Then he glared at Azriela. "I do not do it every year!"

"Do too!"

"Do not!"

"Do-"

"Children," scolded Mr. Jacobs lightly. "This is a time of celebration, not argument."

"Sorry," said both kids, resuming their feasting.

After the matzah ball soup there were potato pancakes which Les called latkes, and then there were two roasted chickens which Mrs. Jacobs had made that morning.

"This is really good!" Said Crutchie as he tasted the latke (with sour cream and applesauce like Tabitha had recommended). "Thank you Mrs. Jacobs."

"You're welcome dear," she said, smiling.

* * *

The rest of the dinner was festive and filled with good conversation, After everyone had eaten their fill, however, there was yet _another _part of the ceremony. Romeo groaned. "Shh!" Hissed Azriela. "This is the best part!"

"Alright, kids," said Mr. Jacobs. "It's time for the_ afikoman!"_

The Hale kids and Les cheered. "C'mon," said Azriela, sliding out of her chair and beckoning to Romeo as the other kids raced off. "Let's go find it!"

"Find what?" Asked Romeo as he followed her.

"Remember when we broke the matzah and set aside one piece? Well, Mrs. Jacobs hid it, and we get to look for it and eat it for dessert! And whoever finds it gets a gift!" She led Romeo into the living room, then began looking in cupboards and under things. Romeo joined in the search as well.

"Is this it?" He asked, holding up a small square wrapped with a dish towel. Azriela jumped up and smiled.

"Yes! You got it! Where was it?"

"Behind that pillow," replied Romeo, pointing to a cushion on the couch.

"C'mon!" Cheered Azriela, grabbing his hand and pulling him into the dining room. "Romeo found the _afikoman!_"

"Good job!" Said Mrs. Jacobs, smiling. "Here's your prize." She reached for a gift-wrapped box, but hesitated. Instead, she pulled a coin purse out of her pocket and dropped four quarters into Romeo's hand. He stared at the generous present.

"Thank you, but I really shouldn't-"

"No, Romeo, the Seder could not continue without the _afikoman. _You earned it. And for you, Azriela," she continued, handing the girl the box, "this is for helping Romeo."

Azriela tore open the wrapping eagerly, revealing a brand-new lunchbox. "Thank you, Mrs. Jacobs!" She squealed, sliding into her seat.

Mr. Jacobs broke the _afikoman _into small pieces, passing it around the table with a slightly larger piece of another matzah. Everyone leaned left ate the matzah, but Romeo made a face at the cracker. "Looks weird."

"It's _unleavened,_" sighed Azriela, as if that were supposed to explain everything. "Just eat it! You had the matzah balls in your soup." She pushed Romeo so he was reclining to his left as well.

Romeo took a bite, and because it wasn't _too _terrible, he finished the cracker.

Mr. Jacobs led another blessing, and drank his wine, then poured a third cup for everybody. Mr. Jacobs started to chant in Hebrew, then everyone else followed with a chant. Romeo looked at Azriela, startled. "I don't know Hebrew!"

"Just say what I say." Mr. Jacobs chanted again, and everyone followed, but this time, Azriela pronounced it slowly and clearly so Romeo could hear and follow along. After a few more chants and pouring some wine into an extra cup which Azriela called 'the Elijah cup,', everyone leaned to their left and again, drank the wine. Then Davey began to read scripture from his Haggadah in a clear voice.

* * *

Crutchie had never heard Davey read. Sometimes, the younger newsies (and maybe himself at times) clamored for bedtime stories. But Jack and Race were the only ones who cared to tell them. Jack was usually interrupted half a dozen times during the story by some small crisis, and Race talked so fast through his cigar it could be hard to understand. _One night, _thought Crutchie as Mr. Jacobs started to chant, _when Davey's staying at the Lodge, I'm gonna have him tell the younger newsies a story._ His thoughts were broken into as Mr. Hale began to read from the Haggadah. More reading and more chanting, a blessing, and then a fourth cup of wine. There was a closing blessing over the wine, and then everyone began to read a paragraph from the Haggadah. Romeo was pretty lost at this point, so Azriela scooted closer and showed him what they were saying with her finger. "Next year, we will hopefully be alive and well in order to fulfill the laws of this exulted evening in their entirety. Next year, in Jerusalem."

Then they all stood and sang. Even though Romeo had no idea what the Hebrew words meant, he felt that they were hopeful and a promise of things to come.

* * *

After singing, the Seder was officially over. Evone lingered and talked. The kids retired to the living room. "So what did you think?" Davey asked Jack.

"It was long," confessed Jack with a grin. "But it was interestin'. And your mom's a great cook."

"Yeah, she is."

They played a few games of blindman's bluff, but it was soon time for everyone to leave. "Bye!" Called the Hales.

"I hope we can see you all next year," said Azriela, with a glance at Romeo. "That was great."

Even Tabitha, who rarely did so, cracked a smile and nodded.

After the Hales left, Jack stood and stretched. "Alright, boys, time to go."

"Les and I won't be at work tomorrow. Passover rules," explained Davey, rubbing the back of his next. "But we'll be in the next workday."

"No problem, Davey." Jack shrugged. "C'mon, punks, let's amscray."

"Jack!" Les ran over, carrying several matzah. "Here! You might want these, they're great snacks. And you can put jam on them!"

"Thanks, kid," said Jack, taking the gift. "And thanks for inviting us," he said to Davey as he and his friends left.

Sometimes, Davey mused, maybe mixing your friend groups wasn't such a bad thing.


End file.
